Exodus — Chapter 31
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1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5And in cutting of stones, to set
6And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
7The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that
8And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,
9And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,
10And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office,
11And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy
12And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
13Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I
14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it
15Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth
16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations,
17It
18And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4to devise skilful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of workmanship.
6And I, behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee:
7the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy-seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the Tent,
8and the table and its vessels, and the pure candlestick with all its vessels, and the altar of incense,
9and the altar of burnt-offering with all its vessels, and the laver and its base,
10and the finely wrought garments, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest`s office,
11and the anointing oil, and the incense of sweet spices for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.
12And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
13Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily ye shall keep my sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am Jehovah who sanctifieth you.
14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that profaneth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Jehovah: whosoever doeth any work on the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
18And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, the two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
1The Lord spoke to Moses,
2“See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
3and I have filled him with the Spirit of God in skill, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship,
4to make artistic designs for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze,
5and with cutting and setting stone, and with cutting wood, to work in all kinds of craftsmanship.
6Moreover, I have also given him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given ability to all the specially skilled, that they may make everything I have commanded you:
7the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the atonement lid that is on it, all the furnishings of the tent,
8the table with its utensils, the pure lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense,
9the altar for the burnt offering with all its utensils, the large basin with its base,
10the woven garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons, to minister as priests,
11the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the Holy Place. They will make all these things just as I have commanded you.”
12The Lord said to Moses,
13“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
14So you must keep the Sabbath, for it is holy for you. Everyone who defiles it must surely be put to death; indeed, if anyone does any work on it, then that person will be cut off from among his people.
15Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death.
16The Israelites must keep the Sabbath by observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
17It is a sign between me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”
18He gave Moses two tablets of testimony when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, tablets of stone written by the finger of God.
1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2“Behold, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all kinds of workmanship,
4to devise skillful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all kinds of workmanship.
6Behold, I myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of all who are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded you:
7the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the testimony, the mercy seat that is on it, all the furniture of the Tent,
8the table and its vessels, the pure lamp stand with all its vessels, the altar of incense,
9the altar of burnt offering with all its vessels, the basin and its base,
10the finely worked garments—the holy garments for Aaron the priest—the garments of his sons to minister in the priest’s office,
11the anointing oil, and the incense of sweet spices for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”
12Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
13“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Most certainly you shall keep my Sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies you.
14You shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.
16Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.’”
18He gave to Moses, when he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets, written with God’s finger.
Summary
God appoints Bezalel and Oholiab as Spirit-filled craftsmen for the Tabernacle, then gives Moses the stone tablets and commands Sabbath observance.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Israel remains encamped at Mount Sinai. God appoints Bezalel and Oholiab and gives the Sabbath sign. Moses receives the two stone tablets at the summit.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik emphasizes that Bezalel's Spirit-filling for craftsmanship shows God values artistic work as sacred calling. He notes the Sabbath's placement here as a reminder that no work — even God's work — supersedes rest.
- Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "The Holy Spirit Compared to the Wind" (MTP Vol. 26, No. 1543) "The Spirit of God fills men for all manner of service. He filled Bezalel for the cutting of stones and the carving of wood. Do not think the Holy Ghost is only for preachers and prophets. He is for every man in his calling. The carpenter filled with the Spirit drives his plane to the glory of God. The seamstress filled with the Spirit plies her needle as unto the Lord. All work becomes worship when the Spirit fills the worker."
Reflection
- 1. God filled Bezalel with His Spirit for craftsmanship (v.3). Do you view your daily work — whatever it is — as a potential arena for the Spirit's empowerment? How might your work change if you invited the Spirit into it?
- 2. "In the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom" (v.6). God gives skill and then calls people to use it for His purposes. What skills has God given you, and how are you using them for His kingdom?
- 3. The Sabbath command is placed between the instructions and the construction (vv.12-17). What does this teach about the relationship between work and rest? Are you tempted to skip rest because the work feels "holy"?
- 4. The Sabbath is called a "sign" (v.13). Signs point to something beyond themselves. What does Sabbath rest point to? (cf. Hebrews 4:9-11)
- 5. The tablets were "written with the finger of God" (v.18). God personally inscribed His words. How does the directness of God's communication affect how you receive and respond to Scripture?